Polo and Clarkson's magazine

memm · Post by **memm** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 9:56 pm

Oh, I especially bought the Sunday TImes, to get Clarkson's magazine that comes with it, I thought they should have tested the "Polo" class this time. But when I got home I found out that somebody must have nicked the car magazine from the newspaper. Does anyone know how they rated the Polo? (Last week the Lupo and the Golf won in their classes)

SiDaBa · Post by **SiDaBa** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 10:15 pm

for damn sake i thought that was only last week. Went to buy it at work last sunday and they'd all gone, loads of them today and i didn't bother

memm · Post by **memm** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 8:50 am

It was definitely this week as well, and they were supposed to test "small hatchbacks" I woudl think that is the Polo's class....

I found out that they have a web-page with the articles.. It's http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,12629,00.html
It still has last Sunday's articles, but I guess they'll update its somewhen during the week.... I don't think Clarkson likes Polos a lot, but then I was also surprised that the Lupo won, so I hope they'll update their web page soon, so that I can read about it.

SiDaBa · Post by **SiDaBa** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 12:51 pm

Ahhh but on tope gear the new polo was "Cool" so maybe it wont be so bad!!

Babe RuthLess · Post by **Babe RuthLess** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 1:14 am

Hmmm....

1st Toyota Yaris T Sport
If you are essentially a simpleton, this car is perfect and effortless to drive

2nd Honda Jazz 1.4 i-DSI SE

3rd Ford Fiesta 1.4 LX

4th Nissan Micra 1.4 SE

NO WAY: Vauxhall Corsa 1.8 SRi

I've never driven the Micra (Nissan passenger cars are not available here anymore), but the Honda Jazz/Fit is OK if a bit underpowered.

Brazilian Fiestas have either 1-litre (normally aspirated w/ 65 bhp and Supercharged w/ 95bhp) or 1.6-litre engines, so I can't comment on this 1.4.

I do prefer the Polo though - if only it could match the Honda's reliability and finish...

memm · Post by **memm** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:57 am

Hmm, at least the "No Way: Corsa" puts a little smile on my face...

Joy · Post by **Joy** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:52 pm

Micra: looks awfull to me, very girly.

FiÃ«sta: great chassis, much better handling than a Polo. Interior is made of playmobil-plastic. Doesn't make you smile.

Jazz: ehrm, having kids allready ?

Yaris: great car, but shouldn't be compared with the Polo. Compare it with a Lupo 16V.

Polo: looks grown up. Biggest car. But I wonder how old the testdrivers are at VW. Standard suspension and steering are really in granny-mode. Very unstable, soft and little feedback. I'm really disappointed in that. The sport-suspension is a lot better. That should have been the standard ride. And get rid of the electronic steering. No feeling at all. Also the fly-by-wire throttle should be thrashed. Optional lights in boot and dash, an optional illumination-dimmer for your dash ...

bizar marketing strategy. Quality-issues are getting common. Also bizar for a VW.

Hmm come to think off, why am I driving a Polo ?

Stephen123 · Post by **Stephen123** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:27 pm

Joy wrote:Micra: looks awfull to me, very girly.

FiÃ«sta: great chassis, much better handling than a Polo. Interior is made of playmobil-plastic. Doesn't make you smile.

Jazz: ehrm, having kids allready ?

Yaris: great car, but shouldn't be compared with the Polo. Compare it with a Lupo 16V.

Polo: looks grown up. Biggest car. But I wonder how old the testdrivers are at VW. Standard suspension and steering are really in granny-mode. Very unstable, soft and little feedback. I'm really disappointed in that. The sport-suspension is a lot better. That should have been the standard ride. And get rid of the electronic steering. No feeling at all. Also the fly-by-wire throttle should be thrashed. Optional lights in boot and dash, an optional illumination-dimmer for your dash ... bizar marketing strategy. Quality-issues are getting common. Also bizar for a VW.

Hmm come to think off, why am I driving a Polo ?

I own a new polo and my mother has a new micra the micra's suspension and steering is far better than the polo just my opinion !!!!!!! Although the polo looks better than the micra .

Scorpio1 · Post by **Scorpio1** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 11:29 pm

I own a new polo and my mother has a new micra the micra's suspension and steering is far better than the polo just my opinion !!!!!!! Although the polo looks better than the micra.

Like you say everyone has their own opinion, but I have sports suspension and feels great and safe if not pushed too far. All Micra's I have even driven ( the best a 1.4)? had a smooth ride but handles like a boat.

I actually think the Yaris is okay, wouldn't have one (but they can be as quick as anything).

The Fiesta does handle well but there is nothing special about them, I have had about 5 Fiesta's so trust me I know. (Zetec-S amazing handling)

The Jazz? I knew a couple of people that had them, and they said the build quality was worse than lego

The steering on our Polo's is another story.. yes you have a point. It comes FAR to light as set from the factory. But it can be changed to have a heavy feel.

I am trying to find out the codes if anyone knows.

Joy · Post by **Joy** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 11:40 am

Scorpio, I went to my dealer to let them adjust my steering. There are 4 options :

normal
GTi
light
very light

GTi was my stock setting. So I thought, GTi stands for "sporty". NOT...
GTi is a setting for Polo's with bigger tires. To ease steering with big tires VW chooses GTi. So I said, well put it on normal then. So they did.
It's just very little improvement. On low speed you feel a bit less powersteering. But when I drove my friends BMW 3-series last week I thought he didn't have powersteering, so much more heavier that was.

Disappointing... can't change it.